Zimbabwe ratifies the CTBT: Events in Harare & New York
On the day Zimbabwe ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) at a ceremony in New York on 13 February 2019, the country’s President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, met with CTBTO Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo in Harare to make the announcement.
“Zimbabwe's ratification is a translation of its practical commitment to the CTBT. Zimbabwe attaches great importance to the CTBT because the nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime requires effective control,” the President said.
“Today we celebrate the historic accession to the CTBT by finalising the process of ratification,” Mnangagwa said.
President Mnangagwa with Executive Zerbo
Zerbo welcomed Zimbabwe’s ratification of the CTBT as “a further confirmation of its commitment to peace and security”.
“It sends a strong message to the international community -- particularly to those countries that have yet to ratify the Treaty,” the Executive Secretary said. Read the press release here.
Today we celebrate the historic accession to the CTBT by finalizing the process of ratification.
At a Treaty ceremony in New York, Zimbabwe deposited its instrument of ratification for the CTBTO with the United Nations Secretary-General, becoming the 168th State to ratify the Treaty.
A national seminar on the CTBT was held in Harare the day after the country ratified the Treaty. It was attended by high-ranking Ministry officials, scientists, and national data centre representatives, including two Zimbabwean youth group members who are scientists.
The seminar included detailed briefings about the Treaty’s political significance in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation as well as its verification regime, including the use of data from the International Monitoring System for civilian and scientific benefits.
Participants in the national seminar on the CTBT, held in Harare, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s ratification of the CTBT is a further confirmation of its commitment to peace and security. It sends a strong message to the international community -- particularly to those countries that have yet to ratify the Treaty.
The seminar was opened by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sibusiso Moyo. “Zimbabwe has joined the family of nations that say ‘no’ to nuclear testing,” he told participants.
The Foreign Minister said the CTBT complemented other disarmament treaties. In his opening remarks, Zerbo said that Zimbabwe was one of the “driving forces” behind the Pelindaba Treaty which provides for a nuclear test free zone in Africa, having held the first meeting to negotiate the Treaty in 1993 in Harare.
Zimbabwe continued to play an important role for peace and security regionally as well as globally. He also referred to the role of Zimbabwe during the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, where the entry into force of the CTBT was listed as one of the action plan items.
Minster of Foreign Affairs, Sibusiso Moyo
CTBTO Executive Secretary, Lassina Zerbo
Zimbabwe has joined the family of nations that say ‘no’ to nuclear testing.